In ophthalmology, ophthalmological implants are used for restoring and maintaining sight. Examples of simple implants are artificial eye lenses, which replace the endogenous eye lens, by means of exchange, for example when said endogenous eye lens opacifies in the event of a grey cataract. Lenses of this type comprise one single lens. Bifocal or multifocal lenses having two or more fixed focal lengths installed in parallel are also known in ophthalmology, whereby, following a training phase and according to requirements, the patient concentrates on one of the focal widths, which are always available, according to the situation in order to favour sharper images. Typically, artificial eye lenses are a single piece, i.e. they are not lens systems comprising a plurality of lenses.
In particular recently, adjustable lens systems have also become known, in which either individual lenses which are adjustable in shape or adjustable lens systems are used.
For example, WO 2007/020184 A1 discloses an artificial system for restoring the accommodative ability. Said system comprises an optical system which is adjustable independently of the ciliary muscle and which is an actively optical element having a variable curvature, a refractive boundary surface or a variable refractive index distribution, or is a shiftable, passive optical element having unchanging optical properties, or is the combination of one or more active and/or passive optical elements.
WO 2000/38593 A1 also discloses an eye implant which comprises a plurality of lenses in a substantially cylindrical housing and is inserted into the eye by means of haptic elements. The implant is distinguished not only on account of its preferably cylindrical design centred about an optical axis, but also in that the cylindrical outer surface is impermeable to light.
Owing to their geometric and optical basic parameters, such as the miniaturisation required as a result of the dimensions in the eye, most complex optical systems, such as that described above, which are implanted in the eye in place of or in addition to the human lens, greatly restrict the field of vision of the potential patient. The described eye implants thus differ fundamentally from the optical units known in optical measuring technology and/or from the field of lenses. The natural human eye has a vertical field of vision of approximately 130° and a horizontal field of vision of approximately 180°. This means in particular that the peripheral vision of the patient in the vertical and horizontal directions is severely impaired when a complex structure is implanted. With an artificial accommodation system, for example as proposed in WO 2007/020184 A1, a restricted field of vision of at most 80° has to be expected, which leads to what is referred to as tunnel vision. Peripheral vision, however, is essential for a person to orient themselves in space, for orientation in twilight and darkness, and for the ability of said person to react to lateral stimuli.
Conventional wide-angle systems and optical systems containing said wide-angle systems on their own are not suitable for use in the human eye, since the idea behind them is to project the wide-angle range in the object plane onto a defined, small region in the image plane (film, camera chip).